Architects in Schools 2026
This year Julia Payton and Brooke McDonald teamed up to work with middle-school classes in Pleasant Hill and Oakridge for the Architects in Schools (AIS) program. Managed by the Architecture Foundation of Oregon, AIS is a multi-week residency that brings design professionals and architects directly into elementary and middle school classrooms to collaborate with students and teachers on building awareness of the designed and built world.
For their final project, Julia and Brooke helped the students design a one-room artist’s cabin for their teacher “clients.” They studied how building shape informs function and layout of the space (and some classes translated floor plans into 3D models). Next they chose interior finishes for their cabins and created material boards using real interior finish samples. Julia and Brooke were impressed by the students’ creative solutions to cabin shape and layout and their thoughtful selection of fun and complimentary interior finishes for their spaces.
Julia and Brooke loved working with the teachers and really appreciated their kind words at the end of the program:
Thanks for being willing to visit our school and share your areas of expertise with our students! They learned a lot about architecture and interior design, and the activities were great. We saw so much creativity, and they absolutely loved the materials samples.
— Aaron, teacher
The pleasure was truly ours—we feel so blessed to have had you with us. Your willingness to give your time to support our classes is deeply appreciated and admirable. Our students would not have had the opportunity to experience these elements without your generosity and dedication. Thank you for your patience, your time, and your gentle kindness. You made a meaningful impact, and we will all miss having you!
— Ashley, teacher